Newbie to Model A Maintenance

Kwschin

Kwschin

New member
Howdy,

In April I found a 30 or 31 (Not sure as no title) Model A Roadster PU on the side of the road that needed a home. Although rough, the body was almost all there, and it ran. No electrical other than the ignition and starting system. 6V pos. ground. Surprisingly, my wife offered no resistance to the puchase at first sight. We got the roadster home and enjoyed putting around the ranch, and out on our country road. As ignition was dead loss, we didn't go far.

Since then we have upgraded to 12V neg ground and scratch built a full wiring harness, adding lights, horn and turn signals. Registered with a bonded tiltle and Antique plate and we're having a blast: having trailered it 300 miles to the North to a show in Denton Texas and just putting around near our place.

So, this leads to the following: Other than new points, plugs, 12v system and change of oil, I've not done any other maintenance to it. I do have two issues of Auto Restorer that cover prepping a Model A for touring , but it doesn't mention anything about wheel shimmy which mine definitely has. Also, if anyone knows of a good listing of things to do to help my Model A live a long life and be fun for touring around, to the two closest towns of 15 miles away, each, I'd appreciate a point in that direction. Don't plan to change the engine, drive train, etc, as we like the Toadster as is.

Thanks, Keith in South Central Texas
 
There's a nice lube and maint. schedule in Les Andrews' "Model A Ford Mechanics Handbook, Vol 1" that will help. You'll find 34 grease fittings and a few oil squirt holes to go over. You can hit them in an hour.
 
Yes, welcome to Model A world. To get started, buy a copy of the operators manual. It has regular service intervals described. You can get them from any Model A parts supplier. A copy of Les Andrews book and perhaps the service bulletins will help a lot once you get really into the variations of the car. The Service Bulletins have the best description of steering box adjustment, which you will probably need. If you have a chapter of either Model A club nearby, you can't beat the help you will get from a hands on expert.

Regarding your shimmy, search the archives here, but in general, you will have to check every single point in the steering geometry to find looseness that can contribute to it. If you have the rubber ball radius cups, replace it with the original type. Check the steering box bolts to see if its loose on the frame. Check the pitman arm bolt to see if its loose on the sector shaft. Look for loose tie rod ends or drag link ends. Look for loose wheel bearings, or dragging brake shoes on a warped drum. Almost any looseness or mis alignment in the steering can contribute to shimmy. Often its a combination of several things. The ones I mentioned are the most common. Too much play in the worm gear will contribute to shimmy too. Its a long list of causes. Have fun getting rid of it...with perseverance you will succeed.
 
Thanks to each for the information in response to my inquiry. I've copied and pasted it into Word, so that I can review it. Have to admit, the Model A has been my most interesting classic/antique car/truck. I take it out more than my restored '65 Chevy Impala SS.
 
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